The Ottawa planning committee recently approved the construction of a new, 12-storey private apartment building near Carleton University.
The building will be located at 774 Bronson Ave., south of Carling Avenue. The developer, Textbook Suites, said the building will include 172 bachelor, one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments.
The unit will be designed specifically for university students, according to city documents. It’s expected to have 38 parking spaces in total—17 residential, and 21 for visitors.
“[This new apartment building] would be open to all students,” said Fraser Smith, vice-president of development for Textbook Suites. “However, given the close proximity to [Carleton] we would expect the majority to be Carleton students, as would be our 256 Rideau project for University of Ottawa students.”
Smith said Textbook Suites saw a need to replace the “aging housing stock in the Glebe . . . with furnished rentals that have beautiful comfortable finishes, easy access to transit, secure bike lockers for every unit, commercial services in the building, landscaping grounds, and a safe environment.”
Laura Storey, director of housing and residence life services at Carleton, said there is a growing number of off-campus buildings available for students. She added the proposed Textbook Suites building is not a collaboration with Carleton University.
“There have been a lot of new housing developments built over the last several years in the Ottawa area to serve the student population,” Storey said. “It is my hope that with increased options our students are able to find housing that suits their needs.”
Storey said that “Carleton has no plans, at this time, to build off-campus residences.”
First-year journalism student Elizabeth Spinozzi said she is currently searching for an off-campus place to live for her second year, and she would consider living in the apartment if it was affordable.
“If the only thing convenient about [the new building] is that it’s close, that isn’t a factor I really consider when I’m looking for housing,” Spinozzi said.
First-year psychology student Laura Sandor said having a building close to campus would be a considerable advantage.
“For me, personally, it’s more convenient if the place I’m staying at is close to campus without me actually having to stay on campus. So yes, I would want to live there,” Sandor said.
Textbook Suites currently has several other buildings in development, according to their website, including two 15-storey apartments near Queen’s University in Kingston, and a 17-storey building near Western University in London.
– Photo is provided.
